Mission: SOCKS!

Of course. As soon as I swore I wouldn't cast on till I finished Serendipity I lost all interest in it. Well, in my defense things got busy (busier than normal that is). So the last sock drug on a bit. But, they're done now and I'm IN LOVE!



They fit perfectly and they even survived a long day at work. I'm definitely a Socks that Rock convert. (For the record, I'm enjoying the mediumweight a bit more than the lightweight used here)

After wearing these socks Tuesday and an older pair of handknit socks Wednesday, I've come to a conclusion. It's a mission really. Life is much too short for poor-fitting socks! Nearly every sock I've knit to this point has been "great but." You know, great but a little loose, great but too short, great but bound off too tightly. Most of the time I knew the problem as soon as I tried the socks on, but decided it wasn't that big of a deal, or I just really wanted to be done with them.

NO MORE!!! These socks took a little more time, I mean it nearly killed me to have to rip back after I thought I was done, but it was so worth it. Now I have a pair of socks I look forward to wearing. From now on, I will not settle.

Seriously?

More gauge fun! So I said I was done with my multidirectional scarf and that I love it. Well, I spoke too soon. I love half of it. And the other half makes me nuts. Here's the evidence.



See how the end on the left, the cast on end, is nice and tight and lovely? And the other end is wider and sloppy looking?? Yeah, that sucks. So I found about where it seems to go bad (just a little less than halfway through) and I've decided to rip back and fix it. I haven't decided yet whether I should go down a needles size or just consciously knit tighter. Right now I don't want to think about it.

Then we have the sock I just picked back up. I'm finally going to finish those (Not) Padded Footlets that I've been (not) working on forever (I think I'm so clever). So I pick up the beginnings of sock 2 and go along my merry way. I try on what I have of sock 2 with the completed sock 1, and sock 2 seems a bit wider. Hmmm, strange I think, but I continue. Then, 20 rows later, it hits me. I was supposed to be decreasing for the gusset this whole time. For some reason when I picked them up I got it in my head that I had finished that part. Sooooo I rip back those 20-some rows on 0 needles with 90-some stitches.

And I'm DECREASING merrily along when I actually look at the sock. Hmmm, now the lacey motif in the center looks a little funny. Like, it isn't quite as tidy as the rest. I tried capturing photographic evidence of this, but it didn't work so well. 20 rows later (again) I realize that I have been knitting at a looser gauge since I picked it back up. Ok, people, this is like three projects in a row. SERIOUSLY?? This time the culprit was my knitting style. I used to sorta throw with my left hand, but in the past couple months I've taught myself to pick while holding the yarn in my left hand. Pretty similar, just a slight difference in which hand does the most moving. But apparently enough to screw me over. I switch back to my old method and things look lovely again. I don't have the heart to rip back again, but I don't think it will bother me so much on socks. *SIGH*

Will I ever learn? Stay tuned.

As promised

Ok, so it took me a little while, but I made it back. And I have fun knitting pics! First we have the finished (but not felted) Big Sophie.

What d'you think of the black? Look ok? I could still change it if it's terrible.

And next we have the beginning of my Fixation sock. At first the stretch was makiing me crazy since I tend to knit tightly, but now I love it. It's probably helped me loosen up a little too, although I wouldn't guarentee anything.

You can't see it, but it does have a slight laddering problem. I have tried pulling super tight at the corners, not doing anything at the corners, knitting really loosely at the corners, and only giving a teeny tug at the corners. NOTHING WORKS! It's making me crazy. I had the same problem with my other socks (though Jaime's don't seem to have that problem), but it doesn't look quite as bad because of the elastic. Could it be because I'm knitting cuff down? That's like the only difference b/t my socks and his. Stupid ladders!

So school has been pretty good. Got back all those scary tests that I had and I got A's on two and a B on the other. I'm happy! I still haven't gotten my paper back, I'm trying not to think about it so I don't freak out. Of course, I found out from a friend that I may be taking this English class for no reason. I guess I don't totally mind cause I LOVE the class (just not the writing stuff). There are some great people in the class and the teacher is really nice. We have so much fun joking around and arguing about stuff. I'd still rather that it actually go towards something though. Plus I might have to take COMS which is like a speaking class, YUCK! We sign up for classes at the beginning of next month so I'll be visiting a advisor soon enough anyway.

Yeah, so I learned my lesson about predicting sports on my blog. For anyone who doesn't keep track or care, KU totally lost to Missouri. DAMN! KU's playing K State tonight in the Big 12 tournament, so that's what I'll be watching. Please win KU! :)

So Done

Well, finals are over. It's still sinking in. Every once in a while I stop and think about it and get excited. Yaaay for winter break! Yes, I'm a lazy bum and I love it :) I started my socks and got through the cuff and heel when I found out that my stupid fat feet are too fat for the pattern. I switched up to 3's and now they fit SUPER well. There's a little hole on one side where the heel connects back to the rest of the sock. I'm thinking it's because of the pattern. It's "easy" because when I'm doing the short-rowish turning I don't have to wrap (never having done actual short rows I don't know how hard wrapping is, but they sound easy enough, right?), but I'm blaming the little hole on that. It's happened both times so it isn't just a boo-boo (or I made the same boo-boo twice, which is possible). But they're gorgeous and I love knitting them so I can live with a teensy hole. I'm about to start the toe part tonight, wish me luck :)

Vicki Is NOT Happy

Vicki made progress made on her mitten; she finished the first two fingers. In her joy, she decided to try on the partly done mitten. The stupid mitten didn't fit her stubby but short hands. Stupid mitten!! After torturing herself overnight over what to do, she has decided to rip the entire freaking mitten and redo it, hopefully making it shorter (and without the annoying little holes she didn't know how to avoid when she began). The perfectionist in her is SCREAMING!!! But Vicki is determined to end up with the perfect mitten (and then another to match) and won't stop until she gets it.

Stuff

How's it going? There are some ups, and some downs. My x-stitch is going SUPER well. I've gotten a ton done and am actually getting back into it. Yaay me and my boyfriend-beating self! Beating as in bet winning, not like physically abusing, though he might disagree lol. Of course that comes at a cost, and the price is my mittens. They haven't seen much action the past few days. Poor mittens :( And then there's the fun fur scarf. It was about a foot of scarf, but it's a scarf no more. I decided to knit in the car on the way to Johnson County to see my dad. Great idea! I loved it (although it took a minute to figure out what to do with my not-center-pull ball of yarn). When we got there I wrapped the ball of yarn in the scarf and stuck the other needle through it to keep everything together. Another great idea or so I thought. So I get back in the car after a great dinner at Olive Garden (mmmmm, fettucine alfredo) and go to yank out the spare needle. Of course I don't do that do I? I pull out the needle with the stitches on it. Arrrg! And I really tried to pick up stitches, right at the top, further down, ripping down and then trying there. It just didn't work with the stupid novetly yarn. So today I took a few minutes and ripped the whole thing and rewound the ball. I'm actually sorta glad, cause I don't want to have too many projects going and I'm dying to try this other scarf. It's gonna be some pink novelty yarn with white wool. I love pink! So I guess it'll all end well...